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FeSpĂ¤hKp 200.

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The FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200 or short FSLK200 (roughly translated: Special Surveillance and Reconnaissance Company 200) is a highly specialized unit of the German Army. FernspĂ¤her is an aged and venerable term for elite reconnaissance troopers, relating to German fern (in this context over long distances) and SpĂ¤her (scout). Thus, FernspĂ¤her are reconnaissance soldiers who covers great distances to gather intelligence and fulfill their mission.

History

Until the activation of the German Army's Kommando SpezialkrĂ¤fte (Special Forces Command) in late 1996, the land arm of the Bundeswehr had three FernspĂ¤her Companies (100, 200 and 300) with one being assigned to each Corps. The first unit of this kind was trained and commanded by Major Konrad Rittmeyer, a battle-scarred former Wehrmacht officer. Former German armies did not know the concept of long range reconnaissance. Rittmeyer studied the Finnish Army's WWII long-range patrol teams that conducted reconnaissance, sabotage, and prisoner capture missions as far as 300 km deep into Soviet territory, surviving for days on carried supplies or weeks on parachute dropped resupplies; furthermore he drew on the special skills of German GebirgsjĂ¤gers (mountain infantry), FallschirmjĂ¤gers (parachute infantry), and foreign special forces the Germans had faced during the war.

Rittmeyer's initial FernspĂ¤her company, back in the day simply designated as Lehrgruppe R (Training Group R), quickly reflagged as FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200. His concept proved prolific enough to allow the creation of a FernspĂ¤her school in Weingarten, South Germany. This institution would eventually reflag as the International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol School and later move to Pfullendorf. ILRRPS provided training for comparable units from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, and the USA. Initially the British Special Air Service provided the Commanding Officer and some instructors for ILRRPS however they later withdrew from participation [1]. When the Special Forces Command was activated in 1996, many of the ranks were filled with personnel from FernspĂ¤hkompanie 100 and FernspĂ¤hkompanie 300 which disbanded at last.

Structure of FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200

The FSLK 200 consists of four SR-platoons, an additional special applications SR-platoon (covering the technical aspects of intelligence gathering as well as analysis of gathered data), a special applications maintenance group, a special applications support group, two specialized medical squads and a specialized military intelligence platoon. The overall-strength amounts to more than 220 troops.

Missions

Just as all German armed forces, FSLK200 needs an approval of the German Bundestag to participate in abroad deployments. This permission however can be obtained subsequently if the situation requires immediate action. Details about operations of the FSLK 200 are kept secret. Nonetheless it is known that FernspĂ¤her have carried out missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Kosovo War and later during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Additionally, FernspĂ¤her soldiers were deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2006 as a part of the European Union mission EUFOR RD Congo.

Weaponry

The arsenal of the FernspĂ¤her is mainly based on stock issued weapons of the Bundeswehr, but with special additions not available to regular troops.(EOTech 552 Holographic sight, LLM01) The main weapon system is the Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle, followed by the HK MP5 SMG in several variants. Heavy weapons include the Bundeswehr's GPMG Rheinmetall MG3, the HK G8 Machine gun, and sniper rifles G22/G24 produced by Accuracy International. The basic sidearm is the HK P12-pistol, a .45 ACP Heckler & Koch USP Tactical variant.

Trivia

The motto of the FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200 is Oculus exercitus (lat. The eye of the Army), the motto of FernspĂ¤her soldiers within the KSK is Als erste rein, als letzte raus (ger. First in - last out).

As Major Rittmeyer had been a former member of the Wehrmacht's Armoured Reconnaissance Corps and the FernspĂ¤hers' tactics resembled those of their mounted counterpart, it was originally decided to assign them to the Bundeswehr's Armoured Reconnaissance Corps as well. Both formations as well as their current parent organization (the Army Reconnaissance Troops) stand in the tradition of the cavalry. Oddly enough, the FernspĂ¤her are attributed to the infantry anyway.

Although being a designated special forces unit in accordance to international standards, the FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200 is not regarded as a special operations force by German military doctrine. This tier is reserved to the KSK.

FSLK200 is the only German special force-type unit which has also recruited women .

Specifics

The -lehr within FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200 designates a very special task of this unit: It is the Lehrtruppenteil (roughly translated: Training and demonstration unit) for the German special forces, and as such the company does training for other troops as well as field evaluation and demonstration of new tactics and equipment. It still has a clearly offensive role though, which attracted further interest again after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the following operations against international terrorism.

FernspĂ¤hlehrkompanie 200 answers directly to the Special Operations Division (Division Spezielle Operationen) of the German Army and is also a part of the recently created Army Reconnaissance Troops (HeeresaufklĂ¤rungstruppe). Prior to 2007, the FernspĂ¤htruppe was an independent formation within the German Army. Their beret insignia displayed an eagle (as the common symbol of all airborne troops of the German Army) with a set of lightning bolts in its claws, dropping down in front of crossed lances (which are the traditional insignia of German cavalry forces).

Sources:

wikipedia.de
militaryphotos.net

Videos

Bundeswehr FernspĂ¤her - Auge am Feind 1-2 (Eyes on the Enemy)

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Bundeswehr FernspĂ¤her - Auge am Feind 2-2 (Eyes on the Enemy)

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FernspĂ¤her - Bundeswehr Long Range Surveillance

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